About the Book

What makes WiFi faster at home than at a coffee shop? How does Google order
search results from trillions of webpages? Why do Amazon, Netflix, and
YouTube use fundamentally different rating and recommendation methods -
and why does it matter? Is it really true that everyone on Facebook is
connected in six steps or less? And how do cat videos - or anything
else - go viral?

The Power of Networks answers questions like these for the first time in
a way that all of us can understand and use, whether at home, the office,
or school. Using simple language, analogies, stories, hundreds of
illustrations, and no more math than simple addition and multiplication,
the book provides a smart but accessible introduction to the handful of
big ideas that drive the technical, social, and economic networks we use
every day - from cellular phone networks and cloud computing to the
Internet and social media platforms.

The book is organized into six parts, each part covering one fundamental
principle of networking. These principles are simple phrases like sharing
is hard, crowds are wise, and end to end that explain how all different
kinds of networks are formed, managed, and maintained. Two or three
chapters are included in each part on interesting topics that tell the
story of that principle. Understanding these simple ideas unlocks the
workings of everything from the social connections we make on Facebook
to the communication networks that run such platforms.

Along the way, the authors also talk with and share the special insights
of renowned networking experts: Google’s Eric Schmidt, former Verizon
Wireless CEO Dennis Strigl, and fathers of the Internet Vint Cerf and
Bob Kahn.

This book can also be used as the basis for an introductory course in
college or high school, offered to those interested in networking from
any majors and disciplines. Instructional resources can be obtained on
this site. Many of the materials for this book have already been used to
teach over 100,000 students online between 2013 and now.

Networks are everywhere. The Power of Networks shows how they work - and
what understanding them can do for you.